CHERUB: Madness
by Cherub4Ever
Summary: James Adams is lost on a drug busting mission in Ireland. Meanwhile, Lauren has some trouble back on campus. *Set after The General
1. Chapter 1

CHERUB Madness

*Note: I do not own CHERUB or any of the characters. (awww)

James Adams stood on the side of a street in a small town, while the rain poured out of the sky. He was currently on a mission somewhere in Ireland, but he wasn't sure exactly where he was.

He had taken a taxi back to where he was staying with his mission controller, Ewart Asker, in a town called Ballybracken. The objective of the mission was to befriend and take down a Class A drug dealer called An Diabhal, which translated to The Devil in English.

But the taxi had obviously taken James to the wrong town so he had decided to take another one back to Ballybracken. It was cold, and James wondered what his friends were up to back on campus.

He started to wish that he'd brought a pair of gloves and a hat.

"God, I can't wait to get out of this hell-hole," he muttered to himself. Suddenly, he was grasped from behind, and his attacker tied a gag around his mouth.

"So this is the little crap that tried to get our boss!" his attacker exclaimed.

"An Diabhal is gonna be happy with this!" said another voice, gleefully.

Then, one of them hit James over the head with something hard. But, before he lost consciousness, James wondered how they knew about the mission.


	2. Chapter 2

CHERUB: Madness

*PS I know the last chapter was a bit short so this one will be longer.

Meanwhile, back on campus, Lauren Adams was currently running punishment laps around the track. A fight had broken out a dinner and she was involved.

Tiffany, the owner of the I-Pod that Bethany had dropped in the bath, had a go at Lauren. To cut a long story short, an insult contest had started, followed by a fight, and now both girls were running punishment laps.

Lauren had received fifty, while Tiffany, who had started it all, got one hundred.

When Lauren had finished her laps, she walked back to the main building.

"Hey, b***h!" Tiffany called from across the track. "Why don't we have a fair fight right here, right now?"

Lauren groaned. Another fight was the last thing she needed.

"Come on," called Tiffany. "Let's see what you're like without your stupid friend."

"Look," Lauren replied. "I'm not getting in _another_ fight." She turned, and started walking away.

"Oh, so you're just going to sit inside and get fat, just like your bloody mother."

That did it.

"What. Did. You. Say. About. My. Mum?" Lauren snarled, grabbing Tiffany's collar.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" growled Tiffany, pushing Lauren away, and punching Lauren in the mouth.

Five minutes later, both girls were on the ground, punching and kicking, and scratching each other. A confused red shirt walked over to see what all the commotion was about. When he saw the two girls on the ground, his mouth hung open. Another red shirt followed him up the hill. When he saw them, he took out his phone and called someone else, apparently another of his friends.

Another ten minutes later, a whole crowd of cherubs surrounded the fighting girls. There was red shirts and black shirts alike all chanting "fight, fight, fight!". Suddenly, the chairwoman, Zara Asker burst through the crowd.

"What, may I ask, is going on here?" she asked, calmly. The two girls broke apart, and looked up at Zara.

"She started it!" shouted Tiffany, pointing at Lauren.

"What!!??" gasped Lauren.

"Look, I don't care who started what. I want both of you, in my office, _now!"_ Zara said, filling the last word with anger.

***********************

When James woke, he was in a dark room, with the only sliver of light coming from a gap in the curtains. He could still hear the rain pouring down on the roof. If he hadn't just been kidnapped, he would have smiled at the thought that back on campus, it only rained about twice a week, but here, in Ireland, it seemed to rain non-stop.

He lifted his head so that he could take a look at his surroundings. In the corner of the room, he could just make out the shadows of his two capturers.

"Hey, look, he's awake," one of them said in a heavy Cork accent, as he walked over to James.

The other guy turned on the lights, and James could see a large table in the centre of the room, with straps attached. He realised that they were probably going to torture him until he told them about the mission.

He felt a bit sluggish, but he'd been worse, and he was prepared to fight his way out. He stood up.

"Yeah, I'm awake," he said. "What's it to you?" One of the men was approaching fast, but James punched him square on the nose, and he crumpled to the ground.

The man with the Cork accent walked towards James.

"You're not getting me that easy," he said.

"Oh, really?" asked James. He guessed the guy was in his twenties, but he didn't look that heavy. James kicked him in the guts, which stunned him, and he used the advantage to pick him up.

"Nighty night," grinned James to himself, as he threw the man through the table.

He patted his pockets, and to his surprise, he still had his phone. He couldn't help grinning.

"Stupid eejits," he said, in his best Dublin accent, (which was pretty bad).

He dialled the number for a taxi, and when he was fineshed, he called Ewart, to tell him that he would be back in about half an hour.

**************************


	3. Chapter 3

**CHERUB: Madness**

"**Right, girls," announced Zara. "Your punishments." Lauren was hating all of this. She looked across at Tiffany. The look on her face indicated that she was feeling the same.**

"**Well, Tiffany, Lauren is saying that it was you who started this fight. Is that true?" she asked, sternly. Tiffany, who had been looking at her feet, mumbled a muffled reply.**

"**What was that?"**

"**Yes" muttered Tiffany.**

"**Well then, I'm afraid that I will have to ban you from going on missions for, let's say, two months."**

"**What!?!" Tiffany gasped as her jaw dropped.**

"**And you Lauren, I want you to meet me up on the eight floor at five o'clock to discuss your punishment." Lauren was confused for a second, but then it clicked, and two words flashed in her mind.**

**Recruitment. Mission.**

**Zara stood up. **

"**You may leave now, girls," she said, and the two girls got up, and left the room.**

*************************

**As James got into the taxi, he felt a gush of warm air. The air conditioning was on.**

"**I'm going to Ballybracken," he said. "How much?" The taxi driver turned around and grinned, showing a mouthful of fillings.**

"**The only paying you're gonna be doing is when An Diabhal gets his hand's on you!" he said.**

"**Crap, not again," thought James to himself.**

**After a short car ride, the driver parked the car. He opened the door, and pulled James out, flinging him onto the ground.**

"**An Diabhal's got a lot to say to you, and he isn't very happy, lad," said the taxi driver. Then, the driver stunned James with a hard kick to his back, and dragged him to a small house.**

**The house had been built in the 19th**** century, and was currently unoccupied, but it was frequently used by An Diabhal and his gang. It had a wide path that ran up to the yellow door, through a small garden. **

**When they got to the door, the driver picked James up, and pushed him into the living room.**

**There was a large coffee table in the centre of the room, and it was surrounded by two armchairs, and a small couch. **

**James recognised the man sitting on the couch from the Garda files he had been shown during the mission preperations. It was the man himself. An Diabhal.**

"**Dia duit, James," he smiled. "How nice of you to join us." James didn't answer. He didn't want to give him the satisfaction.**

"**Oh, not speaking, hmmmm?" he asked. "Well you will be when I'm finished with you," he continued. "I don't like what you did to my two friends. Very skilful at martial arts I see. Well, now we're on my turf so if you fight, you'll fight fairly," he finished.**

"**A grown man against a teenager? Not exactly what I'd call fair, but if you say so." James jumped to his feet. An Diabhal followed. **

**They stood facing each other in the centre of the room.**

"**Ready James?" asked An Diabhal.**

"**As I'll ever be," replied James. Suddenly, An Diabhal threw a punch, aimed at James' head. James ducked, and it missed, narrowly. While he was crouching, James whipped An Diabal's legs from under him, sending him sprawling to the floor. **

**James took his opportunity to run. He sprinted out of the door, slamming it behind him. He took out his phone, and dialled Ewart's number. It took him a second to realise that it was not working.**

**Judging by the cracked screen, it had been crushed when the taxi driver had flung him to the ground. He cursed to himself.**

**It seemed as if he was lost again.**

**It wasn't as bad as when he had been lost in Russia, but being alone with no way to contact Ewart, or anyone who could help him, wasn't necessarily a good situation.**

**There was only one solution and that was to find a pay-phone somewhere, and to call either Ewart or the emergency desk. He looked at his watch, only to realise that it had also been crushed.**

"**Pity," he said to no-one in particular. "It was an expensive one aswell."**

**************************

**Lauren reached the eight floor at twenty past five. She saw Zara, and jogged towards her. **

"**Sorry I'm late," she said. "I have a tonne of Geography homework that has to be in by tomorrow." **

"**It's ok," answered Zara. "Just follow m-." She was interrupted by her phone ringing.**

"**Bear with me," she mouthed at Lauren who replied with a nod. Zara turned the corner, and took the call.**

**She finished the call about two minutes later. She came back around the corner with a worried expression on her face.**

"**That was Ewart," she said. "It's about James. He called Ewart to say he'd be home in half an hour."**

"**What's so bad about that?" Lauren asked.**

"**That was last night," replied Zara. "Ewart hasn't heard from him since."**

*************************************

***PS: Sorry for not updating in a while. Life is pretty hectic. **

**Translations=**

**An Diabhal= The Devil**

**Gardai/Garda= Police**

**Dia Duit= Hello**


	4. Chapter 4

CHERUB: MADNESS

James went missing in Russia before, but it felt the exact same as it had. Then, Zara spoke.

"It's not as bad as it was the last time," she said, in an attempt to comfort Lauren. But it didn't work, and soon Lauren had tears streaming down her face.

"Lauren, you can head back to your room, and I'll send your friends up after you," offered the chairwoman.

"Thank you," replied Lauren, desperately trying to hide her tears from Zara.

She headed off to her room and soon there was a knock on the door. It was Bethany, closely followed by Rat, Bruce, and Kerry. They all did their best to comfort Lauren, and it worked.

"He'll probably turn up soon anyway," said Kerry.

"Yeah," agreed Bruce. "He'll be okay," he said to Lauren, and she smiled.

Then, Bethany stood up.

"Who's up for some swimming?" she cried. At this, everyone cheered except for Lauren.

"You guys go," she said. "I'll be fine here,"

* * *

James was wandering around various housing estates, plotting the outcome of the mission. He was keeping an eye out for pay-phones, but he had been unlucky so far. He had an uneasy feeling, and his conscious told him that something wasn't right.

He kept on walking until he was beside a road. There was no way he was getting into another taxi. And then he saw it… it was a phone box!

He grabbed the change out of his pocket, and rushed towards it. On his way, he bumped into a hooded figure.

"Would ya bleedin' watch yourself," he shouted at James, who turned his back to him.

He started to walk away, but then he felt a sudden rush of pain. He looked down and saw a knife coming out of the left side of his abdomen. It was covered in blood… his blood.


	5. Chapter 5

CHERUB:MADNESS

James Adams woke up on a small bed in unfamiliar surroundings. He tried to stand up as he did a pain worse than any other he had ever felt in his life shot through his whole body. He was wasn't conscious long enough to see a man rush over to his side, take out his phone, and call an ambulance.

* * *

Lauren Adams was sitting in her room, on her bed when there was a knock on her door.

"It's open!" she croaked, as she had been crying and her throat was killing her.

The door opened and Zara Asker walked in.

Lauren shot up.

"Any news?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not," replied Zara. "Ewarts been out looking for him but no joy."

"Oh…," said Lauren, as she sat back down on the bed.

"You know your brother, Lauren," said Zara. "He'll probably turn up within the next day or so, he always does." Just then, the chairwoman's phone rang.

"Some days I wish I could just throw this bloody phone out the window!" she said exasperatedly. Lauren grinned a little. Then Zara left the room leaving Lauren alone with her thoughts.

* * *

James was loaded into the back of the ambulance. The man got into the back with him. The nearest hospital was about half an hour away.

"Will he live that long?" the man asked one of the paramedics in the back of the ambulance.

"I hope so," the paramedic replied. "But it's not looking too good at the moment. By the way why was he stabbed?"

"I don't know," the man answered. "I saw him lying on the ground outside my house bleeding heavily. I thought he was dead but he had a pulse."

About five minutes later they heard engines roaring outside the ambulance.

"What the hell is that?!" the paramedic asked the driver in the front. Suddenly, there was a huge bang on the side of the ambulance.

"They're trying to run us off the bloody road!" the driver roared as the ambulance took another hit.

"Step on it!" the man shouted. "How long until we reach the hospital?"

"About five minutes if we keep this speed up," replied the paramedic.

"Sh*t!" the man raged. He had worked so hard to keep the kid alive and he wasn't just going to let him die.

"I have no idea who this kid is but someone wants his head on a bloody platter," the man said, solemnly.

* * *

After about an hour, Lauren decided that she should try and forget about the whole thing. Zara was right, James would probably show up the next day or something and he would be fine as always. She called Rat and he told her that they were all in Bethany's room so she went down to find them.

She found them all in Bethany's room.

They started watching a movie, but they'd all seen it before so they started talking and chatting. After a while there was a knock on the door. Lauren went to open it and was surprised by who was on the other side. It was Dana Smith, James' ex-girlfriend. They had broken up after Dana cheated on him with Gabrielle's ex-boyfriend Michael Hendry.

Gabrielle still hadn't quite gotten over the break-up and was enraged by Dana's presence.

"What the _hell_ are you doing showing your face around here," she said. She wasn't shouting but her voice was filled with anger.

"I heard that James had gone missing and I saw you all come up here so I came around to see if any of you had heard anything," she said.

"Why would you care, you cheating b*tch!" Gabrielle said, her voice rising.

"Hey, I didn't come up here to get insulted by anyone," said Dana. "I just wanted to see if James was okay!"

"You'd better get your ass out of here pretty fast or I'm gonna break your face into little pieces," warned Gabrielle. Suddenly, Dana launched a kick at Gabrielle's stomach. She doubled over in pain as Dana grabbed her hair and started pulling. But Dana hadn't seen Kerry sneak up behind her and she pulled Dana into an extremely painful armlock.

"Get out of here or I'll break your arm," she warned. Finally, Dana gave in.

"Fine, just get your filthy hands off me!" she screamed, as she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

The ambulance was still being rammed by the time they reached the hospital. The man secured James to the hospital trolley. He pushed open the doors of the ambulance and when the vehicle stopped, he wheeled James out as fast as he could. But the criminals still had one surprise left.

A bullet whizzed past the man's head hitting the hospital wall behind him.

"They've got guns!" he screamed as a bullet hit an unconscious James' thigh. It was a one in a million shot and it could have hit anywhere. The pain and shock woke James up for a couple of seconds. All he had time to see was men firing guns at him and the hospital doors getting closer and closer.

"Holy sh*t," he croaked before passing out again.


End file.
